‘The Donald’ is right about spanking statistic

The furor over Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and his admission that he struck his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch has put parenting and corporal punishment in the spotlight. Peterson has said he grew up treated the same way by his parents.

The Vikings pulled Peterson from the team’s active roster while his case moves through the courts. During a Sept. 17 broadcast on ESPN’s Mike and Mike, billionaire Donald Trump waded into the debate. While saying that he was never a “spanker,” which is less severe than Peterson’s offense, Trump said there’s no simple response because many parents physically discipline their kids and they turn out “good.”

“It’s a pretty tough thing because I saw something last night that much more than 50 percent of people out there and parents out there are spankers,” Trump said.

We thought it would be worthwhile to check if spanking is as common as Trump said.

In large measure, the data says it is.

Read the fact-check here.